Special Education Today

I have just completed another session of reading instruction over the Internet, with great results again! I used my Primary Program and then made some modifications to suit this learner. He is 9 years old and has significant language problems. I learned very early on that I had to greatly reduce my verbiage! I also learned that in general I talk too much! It was a difficult adjustment for me. I worked closely with his mother to guage his energy level, as he was quiet and didn't express much.I started to be able to read his body language and finally found the right balance. When I was talking too much he tended to sag a little, and lean back, away from the computer. Having said that, he did respond to the story telling element of the program. But, don't most children respond to stories?
Here's what I mean.
For the lesson about R controlled vowels I have a fairly elaborate story about the Boss being a bad guy who extorts money... as I was telling the story I could see my learner, listening intently. A few minutes went by and I heard a giggle that chimed in with his. I asked, "Is there someone in the room with you T?" Suddenly a little head slid into view at the left side of the screen- his little sister. I said hello... and then another head appeared at the other side of the screen- his older sister who I had taught earlier! She said, "We knew you were going to tell this story today!" We all had a good laugh, then I went on with the story.

I will be doing another reading clinic online with a learner in Alberta in the first weeks of September. I hope it goes as well as the first two. The little girl is going to be visiting her grandmother in a town about an hour from here at the end of August, so this time we will start in-person. I look forward to seeing if it makes any difference.

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My son was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 6 in 2003. About six months later, in early 2004, he was diagnosed with three learning disabilities. After receiving his diagnoses, I wondered how to...

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I know it is summertime and your child is probably not having to write too many essays at this point, but I came across something that I want to share. The Easy Essay is a wonderful online tool that...

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Are you looking for something to keep your ADHD/LD child busy this summer? The Youth Service America website has compiled a list of 100 ways your child can help serve your community....and keep them...

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This was a tough one to develop. Thanks to many suggestions from colleagues, however, we have a new opportunity to waste time. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. To see the results of the previous poll, take a look at the original posting [...]

It’s one of those stories I wish hadn’t transpired. On the basis of evidence gained via facilitated communication, police mistakenly charged a man with abusing his daughter and, to compound the problem, they based their case in part on inappropriate interrogation of the man’s son, a boy who has Asperger Syndrome. Oakland County (M, US) [...]

It’s one of those stories I wish hadn’t transpired. On the basis of evidence gained via facilitated communication, police mistakenly charged a man with abusing his daughter and, to compound the problem, they based their case in part on inappropriate interrogation of the man’s son, a boy who has Asperger Syndrome. Oakland County (M, US) [...]

Today marks a new venture for me as I begin blogging at Trusera. Trusera is an online health network where you can find and share real-world experiences. Share your story and experience the Power of...

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Bogus Bowl III is closing and Bogus Bowl IV is about to open. Click here to vote in (or see the results of) BB III; voting is open until about 5:00 AM (US East Coast) 11 June. The new poll will appear in a post 11 June just after BB III closes.

Call for Nominations: 2009 Distinguished Early Career Research Award         Division for Research, Council for Exceptional Children In recognition of the critical role of research to both current practice in and the future of the field of Special Education, the Division for Research seeks nominations for the Distinguished Early Career Research Award.  This ...

Dr. M. Romanos and colleagues examined the genetic make-up of several families and found that there are common elements that appear to be associated with ADHD. Although these findings point toward a genetic contribution to ADHD, it is important to note the caveat implied by the final sentence of the abstract: So many factors contribute [...]

2009 EARLY CAREER PUBLICATION AWARD: Call for Nominations The Division for Research seeks nominations for the 2008 Early Career Publication Award. This award recognizes an outstanding research publication by an individual within five years after completing the doctorate. Nominations are sought across all areas of Special Education as well as all ...

In a New York Times article entitled “‘Mad Pride’ Fights a Stigma,” Gabrielle Glaser reports about efforts by individuals with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders to promote public understanding of their problems. Although I don’t usually cover adult issues on EBD Blog, I think this story merits mention. Ms. Glaser leads with two cases: IN the YouTube [...]

The Frostig Center, located in Pasadena, California, was founded in 1951. It is a non-profit organization that specializes in working with children who have learning disabilities. Researchers at the...

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According to an article by Jenny LaCoste-Caputo in the San Antonio (TX, US) Express-News, one of the schools adopting the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) is graduating well-prepared students. Under the headline “Charter school shatters stereotypes,” Ms. LaCoste-Caputo reported about eighth-grade students graduating from KIPP: Aspire Academy and enrolling in competitive, private secondary schools. This class [...]

Happy Father's Day to all ADHD and/or LD dads! In honor of this special day, I want to focus on the enormous role fathers play in their ADHD/LD child's upbringing. I'm going to do so by referring you...

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I was honored to be on a panel with some folks who have had significant influence on the study of Learning Disabilities. This was a special session for the Division for Learning Disabilities at the 2008 convention of the Council for Exceptional Children. Here are two photos. In the first photo, left to right: Hal [...]

I have posted a new product review on the Product Reviews page! Head on over and take a look.

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The Institute for Literacy and Learning is offering an outstanding series of presentations over the next few months. Randy Sprick, Sharon Vaughn, Jan Hasbrouck, Rollanda O’Connor, Deb Glaser, Patricia Mathes, and Lucy Hart-Paulson will present free, on-line chats about discipline, reading, assessment in response-to-instruction models, matching interventions to students’ needs, professional development, early language [...]

Parents of ADHD and/or LD children know all too well how difficult it is for them to keep their school work, papers, notebooks, etc. organized. In fact, I've written several posts on this very topic....

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In her story for the Vancouver (BC, CA) Sun Janet Steffenhagen reported about the substantial gains in tool skills shown by students at an inner-city school in Vancouver. Under the headline “School leaps ahead in the rankings: Britiannia elementary principal credits a controversial reading program for students’ remarkable improvement,” Ms. Steffenhagen reported that aggregate [...]

(image from Best Syndication) The following is taken from Shire.com: 09 Jun 2008 - Shire Limited announced today a voluntary recall of two lots of the ADHD patch Daytrana (lots 2750211 and 2764111)....

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Here’s a “Welcome” to Kylie Sturgess and Podblack Cat. I’m routinely pleased to find folks with whom I share skepticism about the bologna that masquerades as reasoned discourse in education. Because of Ms. Sturgess’ focus on skepticism, education, and science, I’m noting here that I’ve added her site to the blogroll on Teach Effectively. In describing [...]

Helmer R. Myklebust, one of the pioneering figures in Learning Disabilities, died 26 February 2008. Predicated on his work on differentiating among speech disorders, Professor Myklebust emphasized the language-based aspects of Learning Disabilities. He theorized that there were different types of Learning Disabilities and that these types required different treatments. Throughout his career, Professor Myklebust [...]

It’s true. I must update the look of the blog. Changes in the underlying software that controls the general system (killer good WordPress) and the related software (as of this writing, I’m still using the wonderful K2 theme) that controls the look of the site (layout, colors, etc.) made some of my settings fail even [...]

Dan Willingham has posted a revised version of his brief video explaining the relationship between research on brain functioning and education. I referred both faithful readers of Teach Effectively to the original video in this earlier post and I’ve now updated that post with a link to the new video (a link to the old [...]

If you would like to vote for this, and many other blogs, just click on the above badge.Thanks a bunch!

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For folks who are thinking about teaching students how to study for tests: Under the headline “Step Away From the Highlighter,” JJ Hermes published a brief article on the topic. Does this sound familiar? Final exams start soon, and the pile of notes, highlighted textbooks and old exams has turned into a mountain. To help students [...]

Writing for the Associated Press, Dan Nephin reported that charges against Dr. A. T. Nadama related to the death during chelation therapy of a young boy with Autism have been dropped. Criminal charges were dropped Tuesday against a doctor accused of causing the death of a 5-year-old autistic boy by incorrectly administering the wrong [...]

Multiple sources accross Canada have covered a distressing story: Nearly ½ of parents of students with disabilities say they had problems securing special education for their children and nearly ¼ of the parents of students with disabilities in Canada said the needs of their children were not being met, according to a survey called “Participation [...]

Today is the official launch of a new feature on the ADHD & LD Resource Blog! You can now find affordable, quality ADHD & LD books right here. When my son was first diagnosed with ADHD &...

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Links Brain-based Education: Fad or Breakthrough Updated version! My colleague Dan Willingham has posted a marvelous video that’s an introduction to thinking about neuroscience and education. Under the title “Brain-based Education: Fad or Breakthrough,” he illustrates important elements about what are reasoned extrapolations from cognitive neuroscience to education and what are not. Update (18 May 2008): It’s heartening [...]

While "stumbling" using the keyword "ADHD," I came across a wonderful resource that I feel compelled to share. Psychiatry 24x7 has compiled a tip sheet for parents of children with ADHD. It is...

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Over on Like Horses to Water, a first-year teacher of English has a post about discipline that caught my eye. In “Thoughts on Discipline #1: Why is discipline so difficult?” the author has captured one of the ideas that I express every semester. “Classroom management” is one of the biggest challenges for all teachers, and [...]

Shep Barbash published “Looking Beyond the Reading First Controversy” in Education Next, the quarterly journal of the Hoover Institute that examines issues related to US education reform. Although he probably wrote his piece before the recent release of the interim version of the study examining the impact of Reading First, Mr. Barbash makes a spirited [...]

Over on Teachers At Risk (great title!), Elona Hartjes has a post about her reaction to a popular press discussion about the prevalence of mental illness among school children. Twenty percent of kids sitting in classrooms today are mentally ill. That’s shocking. What’s even more shocking is that only 1/5 of that twenty percent are [...]

Not much caselaw exists concerning how a hearing should be run. This is likely a result of the standard generally applied to the judicial review of administrative hearing officer decisions. Courts will likely overturn a decision for procedural reasons only where the hearing officer has "abused his discretion." Ex parte Medical Licensure Comm'n of Alabama 897 So. 2d 1093,
1096-97 (Ala. 2004). This is a vague standard, but it implies at least some deference to the rulings and orders made by the administrative hearing officer. The reason why the administrative hearing officer is vested with substantial discretion in determining hearing procedures is that discretion “… is indispensable whenever individuality is needed…The administrative process allows discretion in order to take care of the need for individualized justice…” Old Abe Co. v. New Mexico Mining Comm. 908 P.2d 776, 121 N.M. 83 (NM S.Ct. 12/11/95).

I'm an advocate for extensive training of hearing officers concerning how to apply these discretionary procedures in a fair manner. I'll admit a bias here: some of my work involves training hearing officers, for special education hearings and for other types of hearings. Nonetheless, I strongly believe that high quality skills training is essential for hearing officers. That is why I will be giving skills-based trainings at the Hearing Officer Academy next month.

In any event, the work of the special education hearing officer is very important. The hearing officer is essential to the proper working of the due process system. I recognize that due process is only one dispute resolution mechanism, and, indeed, I advocate mediation as the mechanism most likely to restore the relationship of parents and school personnel. Hearings, however, remain an essential procedural safeguard that is absolutely necessary to the guarantee of FAPE to children with disabilities. Accordingly, hearing officers should be respected. They also should receive sufficient training and support from the state department of education to be able to do their jobs well. Their independence and freedom to make their own decisions should never be challenged.

Some parents feel that it is necessary to give their child a break from the daily routine of taking medication during the summer. They feel that since their ADHD child does not have to concentrate...

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Over at Skeptic’s Dictionary Robert Todd Carroll has an extended and detailed analysis of the bologna marketed under the brand name “Brain Gym.” Mr. Carroll, who retired as professor of philosophy in 2007 after teaching taught courses on logic and reasoning, created a Web site (and wrote a book) that covers diverse lunch meats ranging [...]

Professor Orly Rubinsten and colleagues found that methylphenidate affects the arithmetic performance of children in different ways, but its effects are not only on children with ADHD. When they received methylphenidate, the active ingredient in Ritalin, children had higher correct responding on problems requiring them to follow a series of steps than when they didn’t [...]

As a search of EBD Blog would reveal, I don’t usually complete memes. Julie Lorenzen of Austism-Blog tagged me with one, though. I’m following through here. 1. Pick up the nearest book. 2. Open to page 123 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you. The book nearest me [...]